It is known to equip a vehicle with an electric drive actuator or motor for providing torque to the engine/driveline/wheels, and optionally generating electricity when mechanically driven. Various failure modes of the motor include internal shorts or opens of phases in the motor. Before the motor is used by the vehicle, it is advantageous to test the motor without actually operating the motor. In addition, it is advantageous to track key motor characteristics over time to detect degradation before a significant failure occurs. Techniques to detect opens and shorts have been proposed that operate the motor (e.g. attempt to generate torque) and then detect faults such as over currents, controller faults associated with lack of control of the motor, or plausibility checks on two currents being equal and opposite or all zero indicating an open phase. These faults can have a variety of potential causes that are not related to faults in the motor. For instances, two currents being equal and opposite is a natural condition that occurs every sixty degrees of rotation and may exist continuously during stall. Controller faults can be related to current sensors or gate signals not functioning correctly. Furthermore, these checks can lack fidelity and allow a degrading machine to not be correctly identified until a significant fault occurs, which can result in a stranded operator of the vehicle.